1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates in general to dispensing cold beverages from a tap, and in particular to an additional cooling unit used to reduce the temperature of the beverage at the tap.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
In restaurants, bars, stadiums and other public facilities, soft drinks and beer are commonly dispensed on tap. In many cases, the supply containers, such as the beer kegs, will be located in a large walk-in cooler or refrigerator. The drinks may be dispensed at several locations considerable distances away from the supply containers, as much as up to five hundred feet.
In the case of beer, this is handled by connecting the beer keg to a carbon dioxide container, which applies pressure to a beer line leading to the valve or tap. To keep the temperature of the beer in the beer line from warming too much, a chilled liquid line containing glycol runs in parallel alongside the beer line. The glycol line and the various beer lines are all located in a parallel bundle surrounded by an insulated jacket conduit. The glycol is kept at a cool temperature by a glycol refrigeration unit which cools the glycol in a glycol tank located near the beer kegs.
In the case of soft drinks, where no beer is being served, carbonated water will be circulated through a chilled liquid line in the parallel bundle instead of glycol. The carbonated water is mixed at the dispensing site with the soft drink syrup.
While these systems are successful, warming of the beverage is still a problem. The parallel chilled liquid lines do not adequately maintain the temperature of the beverage in some cases where the lines are very long. This can be partiuclarly a problem with beer. If the temperature goes above approximately 40-45 degrees Fahrenheit, the beer will foam excessively at the tap.